Hispanics and Dropout Rates

Hispanics in the United States are a diverse population group. The term "Hispanic" is generally applied to those whose origin or country of ancestry is Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain or the Spanish-speaking countries in South America, Central America, or the Caribbean. Also included in the term "Hispanic" are people of mixed Hispanic heritage. The major Hispanic subgroups--Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans--are concentrated in different parts of the United States.

One of the chief sources of information regarding the undereducation of youth is the population survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, which estimates the dropout rates for 16- to 24-year-olds. The rate includes all in this age group who have not completed high school and are not currently enrolled in regular or adult high school classes. The 1990 U.S. Census estimated the dropout rate for Hispanic youth at 30 percent. In comparison, the dropout rate for non-Hispanic blacks was 18 percent and 10 percent for no

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tudies show that poor women are more likely to have children at a young age and then drop out of school; another study indicates that working more than 20 hours a week has a negative impact on the likelihood of a teenager to stay in school (U.S. Dept. of Education, 1993, p. 28). Researchers have further found that Hispanics with similar economic backgrounds have the same dropout rates as non-Hispanic whites or blacks (U.S. General Accounting, 1994; Waggoner, 1991). A National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) comparison of high school dropout rates among cohorts of students in 1980 and 1990 found that the proportion of Hispanic students with risk factors for dropping out appears to be growing, compared with other racial and ethnic groups. The study uses a slightly different definition of dropout than the U.S. Census. For instance, in the NCES study, students who received a high school equivalency certificate, e.g., General Educational Development (GED) credential were considered completers, not dropouts. Dropouts were defined as those enrolled in their sophomore year, but who had not completed school two years later. Thus the study examined a representative cohort of students exactly 10 years apart (1980 and 1990), whi
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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